Chapter 40: Ghost Face Prajna (Thanks to Nuan Yang for the huge silver reward)
"Six people in a team, Li Yuan, Wang Gong, Zhao Xiaoming, follow me, follow closely, don't fall behind!"
"Each person has three flares from Bai Xiang Tower. If anything goes wrong, blow them immediately!"
"Don't be so stubborn, don't go too far, we have to withdraw before nightfall... Well, tie up the master's horse, and leave someone to watch it!"
……
Before entering the mountain, Yue Yunjin was very serious and kept talking about various precautions.
Li Yuan listened carefully, but soon found that this senior brother was also very nervous. He kept repeating the same thing over and over again, and became a little impatient. He turned to look at Fajiu Mountain.
Fajiu Mountain is not a single mountain, but a continuous mountain range. You can't see the end of it from here. There is no road in the mountain, only a few small dirt paths often taken by woodcutters.
There was faint smoke rising from the hill, indicating that there was a village nestling against the mountain.
The forces of several other families entered the mountains from other places. From afar, Li Yuan could see startled birds flying up from the woods, chirping.
"They are not stupid. They are making such a big move. It is obvious that they don't want to find Nian Jiu. Also, although the reward is tempting, the risk is too great. It is more cost-effective to follow the crowd and make a few taels of silver."
Li Yuan understood something in his heart.
Nowadays, no one is stupid. Dozens of gang members, apprentices, and disciples from various families have come, but no one is so stubborn as to want to rush to the ninth year.
He was a murderer who fled thousands of miles, killed people serially in the city and then attacked and killed Wang Luan of Lihe Martial Arts School and the head of the police Qiu Da. He was severely injured by several masters but was still able to escape from the city.
No matter how good money is, it can’t be better than life!
"They are all smart people."
Li Yuan felt relieved. Just as he looked up, Yue Yunjin's voice came out:
"That year, the Nine offered a reward of 150 taels of silver, and County Magistrate Lu personally offered a reward of ten bottles of Blood Nourishing Pills, one bottle of Bone Forging Pills, a top-grade sharp weapon, and a black-maned horse!"
“…Not all of them are smart.”
After taking a look at the people who were obviously getting agitated, Li Yuan shook his head and interrupted with a light cough:
"Brother Yue, it's time to go into the mountains."
He had no interest in the reward, but it was obvious that no one would be tempted.
"Well, into the mountains."
Yue Yunjin frowned slightly, stopped talking, and was the first to enter the mountain, clearing the way and scanning for possible clues.
Li Yuan carried a hammer on his back, picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground, and poked the surrounding grass and trees, making a rustling sound.
The other apprentices were stunned at first, and then followed suit.
Searching the mountain is an extremely boring and lengthy process, especially for the apprentices in the weapon forge who carry heavy hammers on their backs, who are much more tired than the other apprentices.
Before long, some people were exhausted and had to stop to rest.
"We have to search these hills before dark!"
Yue Yunjin frowned and scolded in a low voice.
boom!
Suddenly, there was a muffled explosion in the distance.
“You found it already?!”
Li Yuan's spirit was shaken, and he grasped the long-handled heavy hammer behind him.
……
……
In the dense forest, Tang Tong walked with a spear in his hand. He walked very fast and swung the spear from time to time to clear the weeds and rotten trees that blocked the way. Soon he reached the halfway point of the mountain.
After passing through the dense forest, the view becomes much wider.
On a huge lying cow stone, a middle-aged man in black tights sat cross-legged with a half-person-high wide-bladed knife stuck in front of him.
"Commander Qiu, where is the thief?"
Tang Tong stopped, his eyes filled with fear.
The person in front of him was none other than Qiu Long, the commander of the Gaoliu County Guards, who was born in the Divine Weapon Valley and was the best fighter within a radius of 500 miles. He once wielded a Conglong Sword and killed more than 300 horse thieves.
“Nature is in this mountain.”
Qiu Long opened his eyes and said, "That thief has mastered the Qinggong (lightness skill) to a high level. After being stabbed by Conglong, he was able to drag his body out of the city."
"So powerful?"
Tang Tong raised his eyebrows, feeling doubtful.
He had seen Qiu Long's methods, and it was hard for him to believe that he could escape from him despite being seriously injured that year.
Compared to this, he believed that Qiu Long was unwilling to do it himself and had other intentions.
"This beast is indeed very ferocious."
Qiu Long looked at him calmly.
Seeing him like this, Tang Tong's heart sank a little, and he couldn't help but look back at the way he came. The mountain was covered with dense forests like the sea, and at a glance, there were only treetops and flying birds.
“Don’t worry, Brother Tang. This beast was first stabbed by Yu and then by Commander Qiu. Even if he has mastered the art of horizontal training, most of it has been abandoned now. If he wants to commit murder, he will surely die.” A figure flashed in the dense forest, and Yu Zhen walked out slowly with a smile.
"Yu Zhen!"
Tang Tong's face was slightly gloomy, but he didn't get angry.
"Qiu originally thought that this guy was wanted by the imperial court and did not take it seriously. It was only after he was summoned in the valley that he learned that he had actually stolen the valley's secret martial arts, the Bingdao Fighting Hammer!
This is a superior martial art that even Qiu has no chance to learn..."
Qiu Long slowly stood up, leaning on his sword, his eyes like a tiger:
"If you two can capture and kill this beast and retrieve the secret manual, I, Qiu, can, on behalf of Elder Han, grant you a place to join the Divine Weapon Valley."
"Superior martial arts, a place to enter the valley."
Tang Tong's heart skipped a beat, but Yu Zhen licked the corner of his mouth, seeming to be quite moved.
"You all are the same, of course!"
Qiu Long looked towards the dense forest. There were figures moving around in the forest, and many ghostwriters who followed them were ready to make a move.
"Of course, you can also try to steal our secret teachings. As long as you can avoid Elder Han's pursuit, Qiu naturally doesn't care."
Elder Han?
Tang Tong's heart skipped a beat:
"Is it 'Ghost Face Prajna' Han Chuijun?"
There were also exclamations from the dense forest, as if no one had expected to alarm this big shot from the Divine Weapon Valley.
boom!
At this time, fireworks shot up into the sky and made loud noises in the dense forest in the distance.
"Ok?"
Qiu Long's eyes narrowed.
All the people inside and outside the dense forest rushed towards that place, and the sound of grass and trees breaking was endless.
……
……
"Damn it, poof!"
Nian Jiu staggered and killed the Sanhe gang member who fired the flare arrow. A mouthful of black blood sprayed onto the ground, making a corrosive "sizzling" sound.
To him, these thugs who were only good at fighting and kicking were no different from ordinary people and he could kill them with ease. But now, his injuries were aggravated.
"Yu Zhen, Qiu Long, and that constable..."
He tore off the gang member's clothes and used them to wrap his torn arm. Nian Jiu's only remaining eye turned bloodshot and red.
Eight months ago, he fled here and was ambushed by Cao Yan and others. When he was seriously injured and unconscious, he was stripped naked by a bald man, leaving not even his pants. He also lost the 'Bingdao Fighting Hammer' that he had paid a huge price to get.
He escaped for thousands of miles but ended up capsizing in a ditch. He was extremely angry.
What’s even more infuriating is that after paying the huge price of losing an arm, he only found a broken shoe…
"That's my thing!"
Nian Jiu let out a low roar, but despite his serious injuries, he was still very agile. He moved through the dense forest, avoiding the ghostwriters who were looking for him from all directions.
……
"Senior Brother Yue?"
There was an explosion in the distance, and Yue Yunjin was in a trance for a moment. He was somewhat tempted by the reward, but when he recalled what his master had said, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice:
"retreat!"
"escape!"
Wang Gong and Zhao Xiaoming turned around and left without waiting for Yue Yunjin to speak, but Li Yuan walked even faster than them.
Seeing this, the others also dispersed.
However, Yue Yunjin was the last one to fall behind in a daze. He seemed to hear a scream behind him and woke up instantly, retreating frantically.
"What a mob!"
Li Yuan looked back and saw that these people, including Yue Yunjin himself, had all forgotten the warnings before entering the mountain.
It's not a retreat, it's a rout.
He couldn't bear to look at how miserable he was.
"Ah! Here he is, here! Ah..."
In the dense forest, screams seemed to be heard from time to time, and more people were running around like headless flies.
We don’t even know where the enemy is, so running around will obviously make us a bigger target.
"No wonder the second shopkeeper said that one must be bold to practice martial arts. If one has this kind of courage, one can't even display one point of martial arts..."
Li Yuan stopped and leaned against a big tree to listen to the movements in the dense forest.
All I could hear was the whistling of the wind, the cries of crying and screaming for my mother, the chaotic sounds of footsteps and weapons chopping...
It's such a mess!
(End of this chapter)
